NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), our federal fisheries manager, released its annual report on the overall state of U.S. fisheries. They found that through traditional (non-Marine Protected Areas) management, overfishing in the U.S. is nearing an end. NOAA stated that 84 percent of the U.S. fish stock are free from overfishing and the balance is headed in that direction. It is clear that giant no-fishing zones called MPAs are not needed to maintain healthy fish stocks—the fact that MPAs compact fishing effort into ever smaller areas actually increases the chance that overfishing will occur in the remaining open areas. Artificial reefs are one way to help the open areas withstand such compaction.
